$1 Million: Does It Still Mean You’re Rich?
Becoming a millionaire used to mean you were on top of the world. Nowadays, it means you are climbing up the ladder. While a million dollars is completely out of reach for many people, it’s just a step along the way for many others. Why? Because it doesn’t go as far as it used to.
The term millionaire has been synonymous with being rich ever since we became a country. The person most often credited to be the first American millionaire, Elias Hasket Derby, made his fortune as a privateer during the American revolution. Back then a millionaire did really mean rich.
Also, we all love round numbers. We love to see 1999 become 2000, and our odometer roll over to 100,000 miles. So it’s only natural we would fixate on $1,000,000. It’s a milestone with a lot of zeros. It’s even got an additional comma. Now that’s rich — having two commas in your net worth! But what does that get you? Not as much as you would think.